In the Paper
by Zetta
Summary: Frank and Alice Longbottom's last day before they were attacked. PreOotP.


In the Paper  
By Zetta Zofia  
Rating- PG-13. Mention of the Cruciatus Curse being used on the Longbottoms.  
Summary- My thoughts on Frank Longbottom's last insanity-free day.  
Spoilers: Up to GoF, though Judy Longbottom became Alice in the most recent edit. (Thanks Chocolate Taco for pointing out the one I missed.)  
Comments welcome and appreciated.  
Please note that this story used to be under my other name, but I moved it to this account because I just got Support Services. It is no longer under the other account.

It was in the paper the day of the funeral.

_Frank and Alice Longbottom were the first Aurors to officially arrive on the scene, and have been placed in charge of the investigation of You-Know-Who's whereabouts, or if he is truly dead, the investigation into how his death came about. The only witness to the Potter's brutal murders is their one year old son, Harry Potter- commonly known as The Boy Who Lived._

It was the first time he had been mentioned in the paper before, and he realized as he stared at his name in the newspaper ink, he would have been perfectly content to wait a while longer to see his name in ink.

The price was too high for something no one but he and Alice really cared about anyway. He shuddered and stood up, setting the paper down and fixing his tie. "Alice?" he called. "It's time to go."

He heard her moving in the bedroom and a moment later, she came out, garbed in a black dress beneath her black robes. She did not wear a hat, though it might have been expected of her, as one of Lily Potter's best friends.

But Alice had told him earlier that she would not hide her grief behind a veil of any sorts.

Their eyes met for a long moment as she paused at the entrance to the room. Her eyes were still rimmed with red. She'd been crying on and off since they had found them.

One of the cruelest parts of it was that Alice, Lily's dearest friend had been the first to find her dead body. Baby Harry had been taken away by Hagrid earlier. Sirius Black had made his escape. In the dark night, it had only been him, Alice, and Lily and James's bodies.

Frank felt his stomach lurch. When Dumbledore had told everyone what had happened... Sirius Black had killed them.

Frank looked over to his wife. "You ready to go?" he asked quietly. She shut her eyes tightly, and he sighed and crossed over to her side, pulling her into his arms. "It'll be all right," he murmured. "They're at peace now. Harry will be fine. Voldemort is gone."

"And everyone thinks we should celebrate because of it," Alice whispered. "Oh, Frank!"

For a moment, neither moved, Alice resting against him.

But then it was time to go-

Lily and James Potter would be buried on this day.

#*#*#*#*#

The funeral was awful. Not because of the ceremony- Lily and James had wanted a simple ceremony, and that was what they got. It was awful because they had been dear to so many people, and their deaths had been a blow to the wizarding community.

Reporters had been kept out of the actual church and even the cemetery, but while walking in, the flash of cameras was almost unbearable.

Walking out was worse- the knowledge that they were truly gone was sinking in, and the reporters did not seem to understand that no one wanted to answer their awful questions.

Remus Lupin was lucky in regards to the reporters- as close as he was to Lily and James, no one seemed to recognize him. He tended to avoid having his photo taken, and reports were sketchy as to what he looked like.

Petunia Dursley, Lily's sister, arrived with Harry, and everyone wanted pictures. She solved that problem by handing the child off to Dumbledore, and Harry was passed around to all of his parent's friends.

As suddenly as it had started, it was over.

Lily and James were never going to be alive again, and were being covered with dirt in Godric Hollow's tiny little cemetery, leaving behind an orphaned son, a sister who didn't seem to care for either of them, and friends who would forever mourn them. And the one who had betrayed them.

Alice was quiet as they entered their house again at the end of the day.

The day had been a long one, and exhausting.

Frank felt a twinge of guilt as he thought of Neville. Neville had been packed off and sent to his grandmother's for the week. The guilt was because it was Neville's first time away from his parents, and Frank found that he was grateful for the break from his son.

The love he felt for his son was incomparable, but Frank and Alice had agreed that there was too much to be done that week, with the funerals, investigations, and dealing with the still-present threat of Death Eaters.

At the same time, Frank felt as though he wanted his son with him. The stress of his days was usually cut in half just looking at little Neville, and Frank knew that Alice felt the loss even more.

He opened his mouth to ask her if she wanted to go see his mother and Neville, but stopped short when he heard a pop up front. "We weren't expecting anyone, were we?" he asked.

Alice looked at him and shook her head. "I don't think so," she answered. "But it could be Moody."

Frank frowned and went to the door to see. No one was on the porch, so he opened the door and stepped out a little.

Movement caught his eye, and he turned in time to see flames starting at the corner of the house. "Alice! Fire!" he called, and aimed his wand at the flames, stepping out on the grass to have a better viewpoint of the fire.

Alice flew out of the house after him. "Wh-how?"

He grunted, and wondered why the fire wouldn't go out by using any of the spells he'd been taught.

_Thank Merlin that Neville's not here_.

A tingling on the back of his neck was all the warning he had of the trap. He started to turn. "Al-"

"_Crucio_!"

Alice gasped and fell forward, landing on her knees. Her face went white with pain, and she cried out.

Frank felt panic rise within him and turned to where the curse had come from.

A dozen Death Eaters were there.

Behind him, his wife screamed, and the house continued to burn.

Frank raised his wand, but the Death Eaters were faster.

He fell to the ground next to his wife, crumpled by the pure agony of the Cruciatus Curse.

_Alice... Neville... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you forever._

It was a mantra he silently repeated over and over that night, as the Death Eaters tried to torture him and Alice into talking.

_Alice... Neville... I'm sorry I failed you._

It would be his last thoughts before the Cruciatus Curse broke him and his sanity.

_Alice... Neville... I'm sorry I've let this happen._

_I'm sorry._

Funny how the day his name went in the newspaper, everything went bad.


End file.
